Captain, my Captain
by WynterRavenheart
Summary: Linking suits is a big deal for the Quarians, even if it's between themselves. Linking suits with a Geth? Unthinkable! (formatting fixed)


It's Tali who breaks the silence first.

"So, thoughts?"

"Just tell me one thing," Shepard sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose, eyes closed and that perpetual ridge between her eyebrows creasing to the point Tali's half afraid it's going to be permanent. Garrus will kill her if she adds to the stress his girlfriend's on and under any other circumstance Tali wouldn't blame him but- "where you forced? Cohered? Guilted into it?"

Tali has to remind herself that Shepard didn't have the same experience with Legion and the Geth that she had. "Maybe guilted into it? A little?"

"Tali-!"

"It's not a bad thing Shepard!" Tali cried, before covering her face with her hands, with a sigh she looked at her C.O. wriggling her hands, "it's not a bad thing, besides how could I ask the rest of my people to accept the Geth if I don't?"

"It's more than that Tali, you're giving Legion full access to your suit, you're asking me to allow Legion to have access to your suit and as your C.O. I can't do that." it was Shepard's turn to sigh before getting up and starting to pace her cabin, from her personal desk to the wall and back, "I can't put you in danger when we have no idea what could happen."

"Do you think Legion would put me in danger?"

"Not knowingly, no, but your civilizations have been apart for three hundred years or so, you can't expect evolution to cooperate."

"Just because you and-"

"Don't even go there girlie," Shepard leveled her with a glare, "you used to be enemies, you've threaten him with a shotgun when I brought him on board and now you want to share a suit?"

"Yes it's just-!"

"Tali, no, don't make me pull the commander card on you." She glared again, sitting in the couch facing the Quarian.

"Fine, just... okay fine, he just told me he could mimic common infections to simulate a vaccine and help boost my immune system, so I can be out of this suit, eventually." She wriggled her fingers, the forced exile and the need for a suit were sore topics for her.

Shepard just sighed, the crease on her forehead telling. "Yes and if it was an unanimous decision of your Admiralty Board or if you had a source other than a synthetic you were previously trying to kill, I'd allow it, as of this moment and until I have more information that it's safe, no."

"Okay... okay I get it, I'll forward his findings to you, Chakwas and Mordin. Will you-"

"As soon as I know without a doubt it's safe for you," the Commander reassured her, getting up and picking up the data pad with the needed information.

-:=:-

"Creator Zorah," Legion started, only to stop when she turned to him, shoulders hunched, head lowered, the arms and elbows at her side as if trying to make herself seem smaller.

"She didn't believe me," Tali whispered, right hand holding on to her left elbow, his programs interpreted it as a sigh of self comfort and for a moment his curiosity took over, 643 programs wondering what it would be like to comfort their creator, the rest weary, the possibility of success was bellow 10% and with those odds it was impossible to reach consensus.

"I suppose it's odd, I told her a little while ago I wouldn't mind linking suits with her, even if she was human, I trust her completely, why couldn't she trust me in this? It's going to be good for the Flotilla, imagine if I showed up sans suit, imagine their reactions!"

"The likelihood of the Creators welcoming such a change is below 5% we do not recommend it."

"Yes I know, I'm aware of that, let me indulge in my fantasies a little will you?" She sighed, the sound tired and defeated.

"These fantasies serve no purpose, why does the creator indulge in them?" He inquired, some of his programs - 205 of them - already searching the available network for an answer.

"It's was separates organics from synthetics, the ability to dream, to imagine another future, to deviate from our core programming as you will." She approached him, her head tilting to the side in what they came to understand as a smile, "I'll teach you how as soon as I get the okay from Shepard."

"If the creator can deviate from core programming, why await Shepard-Commander's instructions?" He stayed up as the girl sat in one of the crates in the Medbay, both surrounded by EDI's core structure.

"Because I respect her too much to go against her, in all the ways that matter she's my Captain. I'd said I'd follow her into the void, but we already did that." She laughed, a tiny sound echoing through the machinery. "God my father would think I'm crazy! Linking suits with you, making myself a test subject for Quarian-Geth cooperation... never mind the fact it's absolutely insane for me to trust you, alas, that's Shepard's magic for you."

"We do not understand."

"Shepard's empathic to the tenth degree, she can see the other side of a problem. Humans call it thinking outside the box I think? That's what Joker said anyway, she believes in her crew and we in turn believe in her choices, even if it hurts." She took a deep breath, looking at the titanium ceiling, "Shepard saw something on you, which in turn made us take a seat back and wonder what she saw."

"Do you trust us, Creator-Zorah?" Legion asked, his voice as soft as the software could make it, the more the Creator - Tali 504 of his programs corrected - talked, the higher the chances of comforting her got, 906 of his programs wondered if she would let their platform hug her.

"Yes, my dad would think I'm crazy, but yes." She snorted, looking at the gets in front of her. Wondering how long would it take for Shepard to read the damned file, or Chakwas. She knew Mordin would probably be done with it already.

"I think, I hope you won't have anything hiding behind program 1305 just waiting to harm me at my most vulnerable, but I don't think you do."

"We do not have that number-"

"Legion it was a joke," she interrupted, snorting at herself and at the situation, teaching a Geth humour, who would've thought? "You should talk to EDI sometime, get her to share her main emotion program, especially her jokes, they're kinda funny."

"We do no-" Legion started, his side flaps wide open in shock,

"I would be happy t-" EDI interrupted at the same time. The overlap of AI on AI making Tali laugh for the first time in what seemed like days.

"Tali?" Came an older voice as the doctor opened the AI core with a hiss, the girl immediately standing up to attention. "The Commander had an answer for you."

She could only hope, from the doctor's smile, it would be a good answer.


End file.
